Conveyor Stacking System for High Speed Blanking of Steel and Aluminum

The MULTI-VAC Conveyor Stacking System was introduced by Atlas Technologies, Inc. (Fenton, MI) in 2015. This patent pending conveyor design was developed to meet the needs of shops that process both steel and aluminum for the automotive industry. “We believe that the use of aluminum for auto body construction will increase over a substantial transitional period,” says Bill Rogner, the director of sales for Atlas. The MULTI-VAC conveyor system provides a means for high speed blanking of steel and aluminum with a single-design sheet piler, operating under identical parameters.

This conveyor system can be configured like traditional “steel only” magnetic pilers. The system can provide single, double or triple stacking stations, as well as a reject and inspection station. Material thickness can range from .6 mm to 3.2 mm for both steel and aluminum. The system is equipped to accommodate contoured, waffle edge, trapezoid, square and rectangle blanks. The operating speed of the system is blank dependent, but small simple blanks can run at 80 spm. The system has a minimum blank size requirement of 300 mm long and 400 mm wide. Larger blank sizes of 3,000 mm long and 2,000 mm wide are typical, but this can be defined by the customer’s application. Other parameters like stacking height and handling are based on customer requirements.

Features of the MULTI-VAC conveyor system include:

• Slow and Drop piling mode offer reduced blank edge impact while piling at high production rate.
• Steel and aluminum are handled with identical machine parameters.
• Multiple vacuum pumps are utilized. Pumps that are not used for narrow parts are shut off, saving energy.
• All components including belts are available locally. This equipment is “Made in America.”
• Drop Zone control is provided on 300 mm increments.
• Conveyors do not require electrically activated magnets.
• Belts are automatically guided and tensioned.
• This vacuum-controlled conveyor uses higher static pressure and lower air volume than most competing brands. Balcony-mounted vacuum pumps provide easy maintenance and sound control on the plant floor.

CONVERSION STRATEGIES
Atlas can help customers convert to aluminum and steel capabilities by converting existing equipment or by providing new equipment. They provide extensive experience in mechanical and controls integration with existing blanking presses and coil feed equipment. They can also work with a press company and coil feed equipment manufacturers to provide a completely new blanking line.

“We tailor our offer to fit the most beneficial and cost effective solution for the customer. What they end up with is a customized system that is composed of standard, proven designs,” notes Rogner. “We offer an Allen Bradley-based control system as the product’s standard platform. We also offer a Siemens-based platform as an option at no additional costs. Each stacker is assembled and tested on our floor prior to shipment. Integration of the stacker to ancillary customer-provided equipment is designed into the system and implemented in the field. Industrial Ethernet is used as the basic protocol for communication between machine processors.”

The innovation of the MULTI-VAC Conveyor is the first step toward fulfilling customer requests for pressroom automation that will accommodate multiple product materials with minimal time constraints and overhead. This technology will contribute to other pressroom applications, such as destacking and blank feeding, blank cleaning, blank oiling, and quick die change.

Atlas Technologies, LLC, 3100 Copper Avenue, Fenton, MI 48430, 810-629-6663, Fax: 810-629-8145, sales@atlastechnologies.com, www.atlastechnologies.com.